I had plans for August.
Of course I did.
I had things I wanted to accomplish, things I wanted to get caught up on, things I wanted to start, and probably an unreasonable number of things I thought I could somehow squeeze into 31 days.
Because apparently every time a new month starts, some part of my brain becomes wildly optimistic about how much one human being can accomplish. 😂
And now here we are.
August 31.
Did everything happen the way I planned?
Absolutely not.
Not even close.
But I’m starting to realize that maybe the end of a month isn’t supposed to feel like a performance review.
The List in My Head
I think a lot of us carry around this invisible list.
The things we should have done by now.
The project we should have finished.
The room we were definitely going to organize.
The habit we were going to start.
The phone call we still haven’t made.
The thing that’s been sitting on the to-do list so long it’s practically part of the family now. 😂
And when the end of the month comes around, it’s really easy to look at that list and decide we didn’t do enough.
I do it too.
I can accomplish ten things and somehow my brain will immediately locate number eleven.
Instead of thinking, Look at everything I did, I start thinking:
Yeah, but what about that other thing?
It’s exhausting.
But What Actually Happened This Month?
That’s the question I’m trying to ask myself instead.
Not:
Did I complete everything I planned?
But:
What actually happened?
Because life doesn’t care about the cute little schedule we made at the beginning of the month.
Things change.
People need us.
Our energy changes.
Unexpected problems show up.
Sometimes opportunities show up too.
Sometimes we’re productive.
Sometimes we’re overwhelmed.
Sometimes we’re doing really well.
And sometimes we’re standing in the kitchen wondering why we walked in there in the first place.
Again. 😂
That’s life.
And maybe a month doesn’t have to go according to plan to still matter.
There Were Things I Did
When I stop staring at everything unfinished long enough to actually look back, I realize August wasn’t empty.
There were things I handled.
Things I figured out.
Things I kept going through even when I didn’t feel like it.
There were conversations, decisions, small victories, frustrating moments, funny moments, and probably a few days I would happily remove from the calendar entirely if given the option. 😂
But I was here for all of it.
And I kept moving.
Maybe not always forward in some dramatic, inspirational-movie kind of way.
Sometimes “moving forward” looked more like:
Okay. What’s the next thing I need to do?
And honestly?
I’m starting to think that counts just as much.
I’m Not Reinventing Myself Tomorrow.
Tomorrow is September 1.
And you know what that means.
Here comes the:
NEW MONTH. NEW GOALS. NEW HABITS. NEW ROUTINE. NEW ME.
Listen.
I just spent 31 days being this me.
I’m keeping her. 😂
I’m not interested in waking up tomorrow and pretending I’ve suddenly become a completely different person because the calendar changed.
I don’t need a new me.
I need to keep learning how to take care of the one I already have.
I can have goals for September.
I can want things to change.
I can make plans.
I can try again.
But I don’t have to enter a new month disappointed in myself because I didn’t perfectly complete the last one.
September isn’t a punishment for what I didn’t accomplish in August.
It’s simply another month.
Another opportunity to live, learn, laugh, mess something up, figure something out, change my mind, try something new, and keep going.
So Before We Move On…
I’m doing something different.
Before I make the September list, I’m acknowledging August.
The things that went right.
The things that didn’t.
The things I accomplished that nobody else would think were a big deal.
The moments when I chose myself.
The times I kept going when quitting would have been easier.
The little things.
Especially the little things.
Because life is mostly made up of those anyway.
So if August didn’t go how you planned either, you’re in good company.
You don’t have to scramble tonight trying to somehow make the entire month “count.”
It already counted.
You lived it.
And tomorrow, we keep going.
Same us.
A little more experienced.
Maybe a little tired. 😂
Hopefully a little wiser.
And still here.
I’d say that’s a pretty good place to start. ❤️
⸻
Before August officially ends, I want to know:
What’s ONE thing you’re proud of yourself for this month?
It doesn’t have to be impressive.
It doesn’t have to make sense to anybody else.
If it mattered to you, it counts.
I’ll be celebrating with you. ❤️
— Michelle
Radiant Rise
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